SEBASTIAN LARSSON has told his new Sunderland team-mates they should be aiming for Europe next season as Steve Bruce continues his summer overhaul.

The 26-year-old Sweden midfielder formally completed his free transfer move from Birmingham this morning when he signed a three-year deal at the Stadium of Light.

He, like former Blues colleague Craig Gardner, who sealed his switch to Wearside from St Andrew’s last night, has left behind Europa League football after opting instead to remain in the Barclays Premier League.

However, he is convinced that having managed a first top-10 finish since their return to the top flight last time around, the Black Cats should be raising their sights when the new campaign gets under way.

Larsson (pictured) said: “It’s a big club with big ambitions. We have got to try to improve each year – hopefully, that’s the aim and that’s what I think the club is aiming for.

“Everything is here to progress and with a good start, why not challenge for Europe if it’s possible?”

Larsson, of course, knows Bruce well from their time together in the midlands – it was the Sunderland boss who took him to Birmingham from Arsenal – and the winger is looking forward to re-establishing that working relationship after gravitating ever closer to his homeland. He said: “Obviously, it wasn’t a bad thing for me. It worked well when I worked with him at Birmingham the last time, and when he showed that he wanted me here, it made the decision that little bit easier.

“I started off my career in England in London, I have just seemed to go further and further north. It just felt like the right move for me because it’s a big club with ambitions and if things go well, then you never know how far it can go.”